


Decorations and Sentiment

by aliensandcats



Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Gen, Pre-Reichenbach
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-30
Updated: 2014-11-30
Packaged: 2018-02-27 11:46:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2691758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aliensandcats/pseuds/aliensandcats
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John is having trouble convincing Sherlock to help him decorate, but Sherlock is doing his own Christmas preparations and can't be bothered.</p><p>Pre-Reichenbach.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Decorations and Sentiment

“Sherlock, can you help me put some of the fairy lights up over the windows?”

Sherlock slowly shifted his eyes from his computer screen to his flatmate. “Why?”

“Because you’re tall.”

Sherlock sighed as he nestled deeper into the couch and returned his attention to his computer. “You could get a step ladder.”

John paused in his untangling of the endless string of lights to cock an eyebrow at Sherlock. “We don’t have a step ladder.”

“I believe Mrs. Hudson has one.”

John furrowed his brows for a moment, before realizing what Sherlock was referring to. “You mean the folding one she keeps beside her refrigerator? Sherlock, with the way her hip is, I doubt she’s touched that thing in years. I’d be surprised if it even unfolded. Besides, I’m not going to need a step ladder, because you are going to string these lights for me.”

“Says who?”

“Says the spirit of Christmas! Come on, Sherlock.”

Sherlock didn’t even look up. “John, I am actually in the middle of something.”

John frowned. “You don’t have a case. What could you possibly be researching?”

Sherlock didn’t answer.

“Sherlock!” John glared at his unresponsive flatmate for a short time, before huffing and stomping out of the flat. He returned a few minutes later with the questionable step ladder and wrestled it into an open position in front of the window, decidedly ignoring Sherlock. He finally got the string of lights untangled and gingerly stepped onto the first step. It creaked loudly but seemed willing to hold his weight. The second step was much the same as the first, so John paused and began attaching the lights up the side of the window. As he got closer to the top, he stepped up onto the third and final step, but the creak didn’t sound the same.

John cursed loudly as he felt the step give way. It was too late to regain his balance, and he mentally braced himself for impact, but the impact never came. Instead a pair of arms caught him around his chest, supporting him as he tried to avoid getting his feet ensnared in the collapsing step ladder. They stumbled backwards a few steps, but miraculously managed to remain on their feet.

“Are you alright, John?”

John looked up into Sherlock’s face, blinking in surprise. Was that concern he saw? “Um . . . yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks.”

Sherlock released him and any hint of concern John might have thought that he’d seen in Sherlock’s face was now gone. “Perhaps you could have just used a chair from the kitchen.”

“Perhaps you could have helped me string the lights like I asked,” John snapped. As he turned away to collect the broken step ladder, his eyes caught Sherlock’s laptop, and he had to do a double take. It was sitting wide open on the couch where Sherlock had hurriedly discarded it to save John from falling, and there on the screen was a selection of winter jumpers in the style he himself usually wore, though clearly in a much higher price range than his own. Sherlock saw him staring at his open computer and hastened to close it, but John smirked. “If you string these lights for me I won’t bring up how incredibly sentimental that is.”

Sherlock refused to meet John’s eyes as he moved his laptop to the desk and plugged in the charger. “Blackmail doesn’t suit you, John.”

“That’s actually kind of sweet, though, that you notice what styles I like. The one in the top left corner looked especially nice.”

Sherlock didn’t miss a beat as he turned away from the desk and began gathering the string of lights from the floor. “What are you planning to do with the excess?”

John tried not to chuckle as he laid out his plans to his begrudging decoration partner.


End file.
